Wire terminating machine

ABSTRACT

This machine applies insulation piercing terminals to a plurality of conductors simultaneously and cuts off the conductors where they extend beyond the barrels of the terminals. A cut-off blade attached to the upper crimping die cuts against an anvil that extends across the tops of the terminals beyond the barrels but under the end portions of the conductors that are to be cut off. The blade cuts against the anvil which is preferably made of brass so that the blade can dent the anvil, and accurate alignment of the blade is therefore unnecessary and the blade can cut even though dull.

PATENTEDJAN 9 197a INVENTORS.

ATTORNEYS.

WIRE TERMINATING MACHINE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Electrical cords of the type commonly used on telephones and like apparatus are often made of fine stranded copper or tinsel conductors which are covered with a plastic insulation. These wires are generally terminated with an insulation piercing terminal in which one or more tangs, which are located on the inside of the terminal barrel, pierce the insulation and make contact with the conductor when the terminal barrel is crimped or formed around the insulated conductor.

The improved terminating apparatus of this invention provides means for crimping terminals on one or more conductors simultaneously, and at the same time trims off the excess conductor which extends beyond the terminal barrel.

This machine differs from those of the prior art by providing a sliding anvil of relatively soft material such as hard brass for a carbide or tool steel cutting blade which is used to cut off the excess conductors.

On previous terminating devices, the conductor cutoff blade used the flat portion of the terminal itself as the anvil. This often made nicks in the terminal which caused failure in subsequent operations in which the terminal must be bent to a desired shape.

With this invention the cutting blade forms a precise seat by denting the anvil and it is not necessary to have as accurate an alignment of the blade as in the prior art. Also the blade will cut against its seat in the anvil even after the blade has become dull.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, isometric view, partly broken away and in section, showing apparatus for applying piercing terminals and made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing a punch press in which the apparatus of FIG. 1 is installed when in use;

HO. 3 is an isometric view, on a greatly enlarged scale, showing a typical terminal used with this invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, but with the terminal in position and with a conductor placed in the terminal, and with the parts brought together into the position that they occupy when crimping the terminal and cutting off excess length of the conductor;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view, on a reduced scale, of the lower die anvil and conductor holding means of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows apparatus for attaching terminals to conductors including an upper block 10 to which is connected an upper crimping die 12 having recesses 14 in bottom face to close or form the barrels of the terminals around the insulated conductors. A cut-off blade 16 is clamped against the back of the upper crimping die 12 by a clamping block 18 which fits into a recess 19 in the block 10 and which is secured to the block 10 by fastening means not illustrated. The block 18 has a cut-out into which the cut-off blade 16 fits and when the block 18 is secured to the block 10. The cutoff blade 16 is held securely clamped between the blocks with the cutting edge at the lower end of the blade 16 located near the level of the bottom of the upper crimping die 12.-

No means for adjusting the blade 16 mechanically is illustrated and for simplicity, a shim 20 is used to control the vertical position of the cutting blade 16 with respect to the cut-out in the clamping block 18 It will be understood, therefore, that the cutting blade 16 is pushed up to the full extent in the space between the crimping die 12 and the clamping block 18. If this locates the cut-off blade too high with respect to the other apparatus, then a shim 20 of the desired thickness is placed above the cut-off blade 12 to obtain the desired level of the chisel point at the lower end of the cut-off blade 16 with respect to the other apparatus. Other cut-off blade adjusting means can be used such as adjusting screws 21 that extend through block 10 to bear against the top side of blade 16. The clamping face of the block 18 which contacts with the back of the cutting blade 16 is designated by the reference character 22.

The apparatus has a lower crimping die 24 with grooves 26 for receiving terminals to which conductors are to be connected. FIG. 1 shows five such grooves 26,

but it will be understood that the apparatus can be made to simultaneously crimp as many terminals as may be desired.

There is a slide 28 which moves through a stroke toward and from the back of the lower crimping die 24. This slide 28 carries an anvil 30 consisting of a plate made of hard brass or other material which is soft enough to be dented by the cut-off blade 16. The cutoff blade is preferably made of carbide or tool steel so that it is very hard and the anvil 30 is purposely made of softer material so that as the apparatus operates the chisel edge of the blade 16 will form its own seat by denting the anvil 30.

The advantage of this feature is that the alignment, that is, the exact termination of the stroke of the cut-off blade 16, does not have to be as accurateas with prior art machines where flat portion of a terminal itself was used as an anvil and where it was important not to cause any significant denting of the terminal with consequent weakening of the material which might subsequently break when bent during a subsequent manufacturing step. Another advantage is that the blade 16 will cut-off conductors by both shear and compression action against the sides and bottom of the dent or seat in the anvil 30 even though the blade becomes somewhat dull and would notcut them when operating against a perfectly flat anvil by compressive force alone.

The anvil 30 is attached to the slide 28 by screws 32 which extend through slots 34 near the back of the anvil 30. The screws 32 and slots 34 provide for some adjustment of the anvil 30 in order to determine where the anvil stops when the slide 28 reaches the forward end of its stroke. The block which carries the upper crimping die 12 is attached to a ram 38 (FIG. 2) of a press 40. This press has a shaft 42 which is power driven and there is an eccentric or cam mechanism 44 on the shaft 42 for operating motion-transmitting connections 46 attached to the ram 38 for moving the ram through a stroke with each revolution of the eccentric 44. The motion-transmitting connection 46 is preferably adjustable for determining the bottom limit of the stroke of the ram. Such apparatus is well known and no further description of the ram and the mechanism for moving the upper die 12 toward and from the lower die 26 is necessary for a complete understanding of this invention.

The press 40 has a bed 50 and there is a lower slide 51 which moves back and forth on the bed 50 within guides 52. The lower slide 51 is moved by a handle 53 as necessary and the lower crimping die 24 is attached to the lower slide 51 so that it moves as a unit with this lower slide 51.

By moving the slide 51, by means of a handle 53, the lower crimping die 24 can be shifted into a position under the upper crimping die 12 when the ram is to be operated, or can be moved out away from the ram 38 to make it more accessible for removing conductors and terminals and for placing new conductors and terminals in position.

Dowels 54 carried by the ram 38 enter openings in the lower slide 51 to bring the upper and lower dies into perfect alignment. This is conventional practice in die operation and forms no part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a terminal 54 with an open barrel portion 56 at one end and with tines 58 at the bottom of the barrel and preferably formed by metal displaced from the bottom of the barrel 56. Beyond the barrel 56, the terminal has a flat portion 60 which may be shaped like a blade or prong for an electrical cord. This shape depends upon the purpose for which the terminal is designed. The open barrel portion 56 is closed and formed into a circular cross-section when the crimping die halves l2 and 24 are closed.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the terminal 54 located in the lower crimping die 24 with a conductor 66 extending through the barrel 56 and beyond the barrel through a conductor holder 70 which is preferably a coil spring.

FIG. 5 shows the way in which the different conductors 66 after being placed in the barrels of parallel terminals 54 are held in place by pulling the extended ends of the conductor 66 down into the space between convolutions of the spring 70. Opposite ends of the spring 70 are anchored to studs 78 extending upward from the lower slide 51.

FIG. 4 shows the upper crimping die 12 at the bottom of its stroke at which it bends the upstanding sides of the barrels 56 over into contact with the conductor 66. The seam is zig-zag and metal does cover parts of the center line.

FIG. 4 also shows the cut-off blade 16 at the bottom of its stroke since this cut-off blade 16 moves as a unit with the upper crimping die 12. The conductor-66 is shown as cut off at the location where the chisel edge of the cut-off blade 16 contacts with the anvil 30 and the extending end of the conductor 66 which was inserted into the spring to hold the conductor in place becomes waste material after the conductor has been cut by the cut-off blade 16.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the slide 28, which carries the anvil 30, slides on the lower slide 51 and is guided by guide plates 80 and 82 secured to the lower slide 51. There are flanges 86 on the upper slide 28 which extend under complementary flanges on the guide plates 80 and 82 for guiding the slide 28. This upper slide 28 is moved manually after the terminals have been placed in the lower crimping die to bring the brass anvil into position over the terminals and the conductors are then placed in the barrels of the terminals and secured in place by pushing extended ends of the conductors into spaces between coils of the spring 70.

FIG. 5 also shows a dent 8 8 in the anvil 30 formed by the edge of the cut-off blade. It is important that the upper slide 28, which carries the anvil 30, be brought to the extreme end of its stroke each time the apparatus is operated so that the edge of the cut-off blade will always register with the dent 88. This is accomplished by a cam which wedges slide 28 into this position when slide 51 is pushed in to bring the lower die 24 under upper die 12.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made, and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the in vention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Wire-terminating apparatus including in combination a lower crimping die for supporting an insulation piercing terminal having a barrel portion and another end portion extending beyond the barrel, a cut-off anvil movable into a position overlying the extending end portion of the terminal, an upper crimping die directly above the lower crimping die, a cut-off blade that moves toward and from the anvil, the cut-off blade having a bottom cutting edge in position to sever conductors that extend through the barrel and over said extending end portion of the terminal.

2. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the anvil being made of material that is substantially softer than the cut-off blade and which is dented by the cut-off blade when said blade severs a conductor on the anvil.

3. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the lower crimping die holding a plurality of terminals in parallel relation to one another, the upper die having surfaces for crimping the barrel portions of all of the terminals simultaneously, the anvil extending across the extending end portions of all of the terminals, and the cut-off blade having a chisel point wide enough to simultaneously sever a plurality of insulated conductors that project across the extending end portions of the terminals'beyond the barrels.

4. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the cut'off blade being made of steel and the anvil being made of brass.

5. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 4 characterized by the cut-off blade being carbide steel and the anvil being made of hard brass.

6. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by a press with a bed on which the lower crimping die is supported, a ram that moves toward and from the lower crimping die, mechanism that moves the ram through a predetermined stroke, the upper crimping die and the cut-off blade being carried. by the ram and movable as a unit therewith, the stroke of the ram being correlated with the position of the lower crimping die to cause the cutting blade to penetrate the anvil by 0.001 to 0.005 inches..

7. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by means that move the upper crimping die through a stroke toward and from the lower crimping die, the cutting blade being connected with the upper crimping die for operation as a unit therewith.

8. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by means forvertically adjusting the cutting blade with respect to the upper crimping die.

9. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by the cutting blade being clamped against a vertical faceof the upper crimping die and having a chisel point-that slopes away from the upper crimping die so that the cutting edge of the blade is spaced somewhat beyond the vertical face of the upper crimping die and in position to contact with the anvil back from the edge of the anvil when the anvil is in a position with one edge in substantial contact with said vertical face of the upper crimping die as the latter reaches the end of its downward stroke.

10. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the anvil having a groove formed by the cutting blade therein into which the cutting edge of the cutting blade extends whereby the cutting blade severs the conductors by a combined shearing and compressive cutting action in conjunction with the walls and bottom of the groove.

11. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the terminals that are insulate ing piercing terminals being on the lower crimping die, insulated conductors from a cable spread apart with one insulated conductor extending through the barrel portion of each terminal, each insulated conductor having a length extending beyond the barrel portion of its terminal to a conductor-gripping means beyond the terminal for holding the conductor in alignment therewith.

12. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim l'l characterized by the terminals being held in the lower crimping die by the anvil, and the anvil extending across the terminals and substantially to the barrels of the terminals, and the conductors extending through the barrels and across the top of the anvil; 

1. Wire-terminatiNg apparatus including in combination a lower crimping die for supporting an insulation piercing terminal having a barrel portion and another end portion extending beyond the barrel, a cut-off anvil movable into a position overlying the extending end portion of the terminal, an upper crimping die directly above the lower crimping die, a cut-off blade that moves toward and from the anvil, the cut-off blade having a bottom cutting edge in position to sever conductors that extend through the barrel and over said extending end portion of the terminal.
 2. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the anvil being made of material that is substantially softer than the cut-off blade and which is dented by the cut-off blade when said blade severs a conductor on the anvil.
 3. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the lower crimping die holding a plurality of terminals in parallel relation to one another, the upper die having surfaces for crimping the barrel portions of all of the terminals simultaneously, the anvil extending across the extending end portions of all of the terminals, and the cut-off blade having a chisel point wide enough to simultaneously sever a plurality of insulated conductors that project across the extending end portions of the terminals beyond the barrels.
 4. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the cut-off blade being made of steel and the anvil being made of brass.
 5. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 4 characterized by the cut-off blade being carbide steel and the anvil being made of hard brass.
 6. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by a press with a bed on which the lower crimping die is supported, a ram that moves toward and from the lower crimping die, mechanism that moves the ram through a predetermined stroke, the upper crimping die and the cut-off blade being carried by the ram and movable as a unit therewith, the stroke of the ram being correlated with the position of the lower crimping die to cause the cutting blade to penetrate the anvil by 0.001 to 0.005 inches.
 7. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by means that move the upper crimping die through a stroke toward and from the lower crimping die, the cutting blade being connected with the upper crimping die for operation as a unit therewith.
 8. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by means for vertically adjusting the cutting blade with respect to the upper crimping die.
 9. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by the cutting blade being clamped against a vertical face of the upper crimping die and having a chisel point that slopes away from the upper crimping die so that the cutting edge of the blade is spaced somewhat beyond the vertical face of the upper crimping die and in position to contact with the anvil back from the edge of the anvil when the anvil is in a position with one edge in substantial contact with said vertical face of the upper crimping die as the latter reaches the end of its downward stroke.
 10. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the anvil having a groove formed by the cutting blade therein into which the cutting edge of the cutting blade extends whereby the cutting blade severs the conductors by a combined shearing and compressive cutting action in conjunction with the walls and bottom of the groove.
 11. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the terminals that are insulating piercing terminals being on the lower crimping die, insulated conductors from a cable spread apart with one insulated conductor extending through the barrel portion of each terminal, each insulated conductor having a length extending beyond the barrel portion of its terminal to a conductor-gripping means beyond the terminal for holding the conductor in alignment therewith.
 12. The wire-terminating apparatus described in claim 11 characterized by the terminals being held in the lower crimping die by the anvil, and the anvil extending across the terminals and substantially to the barrels of the terminals, and the conductors extending through the barrels and across the top of the anvil. 